Millions of pounds of British aid money may have been spent on mansions and motors by officials in Sierra Leone, according to the country's anti-corru...

Vaccines are also highly cost-effective compared to the cost of medical treatment and the loss of potential and productivity through death and ill-health. For scarcely more than the price of a large cup of coffee, for example, a child can be vaccinated against five major childhood killers including diphtheria and tetanus.

HIV/Aids is no longer the death sentence it once was. But while millions of HIV positive people lead healthy and productive lives, we still have nine million people who still cannot access treatment. We also have a long way to go on preventing new infections.

There has been an unwritten rule that it can take 15 years or longer between the introduction of new life-saving vaccines in rich countries and their widespread use in the poorest nations. It's a tragic and unnecessary time-lag that has cost the lives of many millions of children.

The GAVI Alliance and our partners UNICEF and WHO are working with Ghana's Ministry of Health to plan a massive celebration in Accra on April 26, during World Immunization Week, at which the first children will be vaccinated.